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Life in Kosovo debates judicial appointments

25 02 2010  Life in Kosovo included a debate on the process of appointing and reappointing judges and prosecutors in Kosovo’s judicial system.

The questions covered included the following: Why has this process taken two years? Has there been political influence? Are judges and prosecutors disappointed? How much time is needed for Kosovo to have a functional judicial system? Should judges and prosecutors be able to resit ethics exams if they fail the first time?
 
To discuss these and related issues, the following panelists joined host Edona Musa in the studio:    
 
Fejzullah Hasani, head of the Supreme Court of Kosovo ; 
Lirie Osmani, head of the Judicial Council of Kosovo  ;
Ismet Kabashi, Kosovo’s chief prosecutor  ;
Kapllan Baruti, head of Mitrovica District Court  ;
Dastid Pallaska, an attorney ;

Beginning the debate, Edona asked Lirie Osmani about the almost two year delay for the appointment of judges. Ms Osmani replied that the memorandum for appointing judicial officials had been signed almost two years ago, but that the announcement was actually issued in spring of last year.

After completing an ethics examination, judge and prosecutor candidates had become eligible to apply. The time limits for application reviews are the responsibility of the Independent Judicial and Prosecutorial Commission, which set the administrative policies for the evaluation of applications, she added.

At this point, Edona noted that the Commission of Independent Judicial Prosecutors had turned down an invitation to participate in the debate.

Ms Osmani then explained what she believed was the reason for the delays. “I was appointed by the Assembly of Kosovo in July, whilst applicants for positions as judges in the Supreme Court and State Attorneys were being verified.

In mid-September, the Judicial Council was requested to send their recommendations for applicants, but all the verified records needed to be with them first, in order for them to be able to make a fair evaluation,” she said. According to Ms Osmani, this process was postponed because an unexpected amount of time was needed to prepare ethics exams.       

Ismet Kabashi explained that the ceremony for his appointment as Chief Prosecutor by the President, had been postponed. He had been notified of the delay only one day before the scheduled time for the ceremony, and no reason had been mentioned.

Fejzullah Hasani, the head of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, said he was satisfied with how the process had gone ahead. “While, yes, it had some delays. These were due to the many applications and examinations that had to be checked, so I have no objections about it.”

Dastid Pallaska, an attorney who was part of the committee on drafting the appointment process for judges and prosecutors in 2004, was asked his opinion of its implementation six years on.

He replied that “even though the process had been drafted in a very professional way, its implementationphase has not reflected this because many irregularities were witnessed, such as the delays we heard about from the head of the Judicial Council.”

Mr Pallaska added that the process of reappointing judges and prosecutors was not intended to fire current court judges and prosecutors, but rather to prove that their original appointment had fulfilled the norms and conditions of their job.

Ms Osmani continued by saying that a new Court of Appeals will be established, and will allow the other courts to work more efficiently. As for its establishment, an announcement should be issued as soon as possible by the Ministry of Justice, he said.

However, she also said that, while judicial reforms and the verification of standing judges and prosecutors for reappointment will improve the efficiency of the Court, first of all the law on the courts and appointments must be adopted by the Assembly.

In the ‘Justice in Kosovo’ section of the show, researcher Florent Spahija talked about the lack of efficiency in solving court cases.

He showed how many trials do not start at the scheduled time; many are not being held in court halls, but rather in judge’s personal offices, in many cases without audiovisual recording; and in most cases officials have not worn their uniforms as required.

Furthermore, he added that across all of Kosovo’s municipal courts, more than 100,000 cases up to 2009 have remained unsolved. In the Municipal Court of Peja alone, 11,000 unsolved cases have been recorded in early 2010.

As part of the show, an interview with the leader of the Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination) movement, Albin Kurti, was shown.

Mr Kurti spoke about his trial before EULEX officials. Explaining once why he is being charged, he said “the first charge in the EULEX indictment is exactly the same as with the previous UNMIK one, attempting to cause general danger…The second charge is for obstructing official persons from carrying out their official duties.

In fact, I couldn’t have obstructed them in their official duties; I would have liked to have been able to do so, because they had permits and orders to kill.”

He went on to say that “[UNMIK] used rubber bullets from a distance of 20m and shot protestors in the head and chest, even though they were unarmed and stepping backwards. In this case [the February 10, 2007 protests], UNMIK police used rubber bullets twelve [sic] years past their expiry dates.

As a result, Hysni Hyseni lost his eye; Zenel Zeneli was injured very seriously, and still has the bullet lodged next to his heart; Mustafe Nerjova has a plastic part in his skull; and we all know that Arben Xheladinin and Mon Balaj were killed that day, and another 80 injured.”

In another special report, journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu talked about the dysfunctional Public Finance Commission.

In the ‘Week’s Highlight’ section, journalist Jeta Abazi spoke about an insurance company that fulfilled its promise to pay damages to a client who suffered an injury.       
 

At the end of the show, highlights from the celebrations of second anniversary of Kosovo’s independence were shown, followed by the satirical section ‘Lamjet’.

Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television, RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.